ABSTRACT
Music education has relied on the basic assumption that to learn music, you need to learn to play an instrument. This disenfranchises and marginalizes many musicians who produce music using non-traditional approaches. As the computer, in all its various configurations, assumes a greater role in all musical activities, we need to rethink what learning music really means. Traditional music pedagogy is built on our understanding of music theory and practice from the perspective of the piano as our point of reference. In a time when any sound imaginable can be used as musical material, we see the computer becoming the focal point of musical activity and study. In this chapter, the author showcases how Berklee College of Music has made efforts to acknowledge the central role the computer plays in all aspects of musical life and to bring the computer into a program of instrumental study that includes private lesson, lab, and ensemble experiences. While computing devices in all manifestations are the central appliance in modern life, the electronic digital instrument (EDI) is a system we define as a computing device, physical controllers, and software working together to enable musical performance. While we see many students coming to music by producing it, we see that virtuosity in this field is not bound by the roles of producer and player, and that mastery comes from the place where they intersect. This chapter will highlight key features of the EDI and the approaches, constructivist in design, instructors at Berklee College of Music use to facilitate student musicianship in these contexts, while showcasing how barriers of access are reduced and a diversification of musicianship backgrounds is accepted.
